Code: muse
by tears of emerald
Summary: they don't see her gifts, but she has them. she is special. but will she be able to help them?
1. Chapter 1

they don't acknowledge what I can do. my gifts are hidden in plain sight, but they will not look.

there was a fire at my home, and I alone lived. and since then, six years of my life have been spent going from home to home, place to place, never belonging anywhere at all. Most people who take me in want a girl to make breakfast and cook for them. I wasn't supposed to know about the one guy they stuck me with, but it wasn't my fault, honest. They had the TV on way to loud.

apparently, he was a gangsta back in the day. But then he became a dealer. he left his apartment at six. I heard him leave. then, at three, the lady from the institution (as we orphans called it) came. she told me to get my things.

not much to get, except the Walkman. every place I go I try and get a job. weed whacking or walking dogs and such. and I have seen the fruit of my labor. a Walkman. My old one wore out, so I bought a new one. I had that Walkman since the fire. but luckily, I had the same Cd to remind me of what I lost. I have an okay collection of Cd's. my first was a green day, my next a Britany spears. Since I paid, I got to pick my Cd's.

music is my life. its strange, what I can do with it. If I hum a certain tune innocently, people feel inclined to tell me the truth. If I hum loudly, they feel inclined to take back something mean they said. I can do anything. so, You're probably thinking, that's great, but where is this going? I can tell you. Kadic High.

I started my day with a grimace on my face. my first day at kadic, and I could barely run a brush through my hair.

I forgot to mention, I'm rich. I know, I know, doesn't look like it, but I only get my inheritance once I go to kadic. (I need a private education to get my money.) I only get twenty dollars a week, but I could use a new shirt, and maybe some jeans to go with it. and a Cd wouldn't kill me. Hilary duff, maybe. or a new green day. but evanescence was quite possible.

either way, I finally finished brushing my hair and put on some lip gloss, some shiny earrings, and some glitter for my cheeks. ensemble complete. Kadic, here I come. my 'agent' (the lady supposed to find me a decent home, which so far she failed miserably at.) was being too cheerful for my taste. something was obviously up. And I don't mean the ceiling. This could quite possibly end in tears.

I grabbed my bag, packed with loving disdain, and headed out of the makeshift room I shared with Camille, my thief room mate. She was lucky no one pressed charges for that box of vanilla wafers. (I had had to carry all my valuables around.) so today, I left for the school of torture. come on. Its **me** we're talking about here. something was bound and determined to go drastically wrong. But I was prepared. my agent gave me a banana (so much for breakfast) and a pep talk, and we were off.

Poor unsuspecting Kadic. Beverly is on her way.

my agent chattered almost all the way there, about nothing in particular, the weather and such.I just nodded and pretended to care who won the world series. (I'm not really in to sports.) so as soon as we reached our destination, I was the first one out of the car.

my agent came with me to the office to get me settled. "this is Beverly," she said, giving me a small push towards the principal. he gave me a short speech, then handed me my room assignments and found a random student to show me around. "Odd, come here," said the principal. this kid with a spike hairdo with a glob of purple looked over and pointed at himself in a 'who, me?' fashion. the principal sighed. "yes Odd." the poor guy trudged over. "Odd, this is Beverly," said the principal, Delmas or something like that.

"hey Beverly, and welcome to Kadic," said the kid named Odd. "Odd, I'd like you to show Beverly to her classroom. I'll be in my office doing paperwork." well, there goes my chance at being normal. who else has a kid named Odd to show them around? well, here goes nothing.


	2. flood!

well, so far I had survived Kadic. The kid assigned to show me around, Odd, had a sense of humor, so at least I didn't die of boredom. He told me he liked my blue hair. I smiled and thanked him.

I never told anyone my hair is naturally blue. I really don't see the need. I mean, they would only freak out. then what? countless doctor appointments, that's what. Not my thing.

I immediately learned to avoid a girl named Sissi. she was weird. Odd pointed her out to me. I asked about the kids following her around. "oh, them?" said Odd. "that's Nicholas and Herve. they're just as weird as Sissi. Stay away from them." I appreciated the warning. This Sissi girl was decent looking, but she didn't need to brag. the oversized gorilla minion of hers had nicer complexion, really.

My first class was science. Ms. Hart seems nice enough. She stood me at the front of the classroom to introduce me, then sat me by that Sissi girl, who promptly hissed "nice outfit. How can you afford to come here anyways?" I just ignored her. Odd was right. She wasn't worth it.

I leaned about the anatomy of an amoeba. fascinating. Sissi was reading vogue under her desk and pretending to take notes on something other than fashion. I let my eyes roam the room and take in the classroom.

Suddenly the intercom sprang to life. "this is your principal speaking,"said that Delmas dude. "it would appear the dam has broken due to the recent massive amounts of rainfall. all students will be evacuated immediately." Wow. my first day, and already something Horrific was happening. Sissi sprang up in a panic, screaming, "we're all going to die!" Not very reassuring, let me tell you. I stood, gathered my books, (the principal didn't say to leave our books behind.) and headed for the jammed door to the classroom, where everyone else were all trying to get out. All at once.

I waited and watched the mob start screaming and wailing. Ms. hart tried to calm everybody down, but It wasn't working. At all. Sissi was actually crying, the baby. I sighed and went over.

"don't panic,"I said. "He said the dam had broken, which probably means it, like, cracked a little and they just want us out of here to avoid lawsuit." "No they don't! Its the end of the world!" Sissi screeched. talk about overdramatic. I sighed. "hey, Sissi," I said. "The one place I lived was full of snakes, and the pipes leaked. Think we can't make it through a little water. well think again, Sissi. we're gonna live and look back on this and blush at what a mess we all were."

That seemed to have the desired effect. "really? she asked tentatively. "yeah," I said. "but what if we don't," Sissi sniffed. "don't worry about that. That's Gods jobto worry about, and nobody does it better than him. He'll take care of us, but we gotta focus on heading outside," I said, and grabbed her arm and gently dragged her to the door. It was clearer by now, and I pulled us both through it without a problem. "thanks," Sissi whispered. "you're welcome," I said. then we headed for the outside.

"hey, Beverly!" I heard a voice. I turned and saw Odd in front of me. "Here," he deposited a lump in my arm. A lump that moved and barked. twice. "eek!" squealed Sissi. "can you take Kiwi?" Odd asked. "there's something I need to take care of."

with that, Odd turned and fled, despite my protests. Boy, did my agent sure goof this one up.

Sissi looked at the bundle in my arms. "I knew he had a dog," she muttered. "Sissi, now's not the time to worry about it. we need to get out of here and wait for Odd," I said, and grabbed her arm again to pull her through the panicking throngs of people. 'what a day,' I thought.

when we got onto the lawn, the dog sniffed his way out of the towel covering him. he wasn't the most gorgeous creature alive. He was small and grey and honestly looked like a rodent, but in his scruffy way, he was cute. "hey!" I heard someone call. thinking it might be Odd, I turned around and was greeted by a girl in black. "where did you get that dog?" she panted. "Odd needed me to look after him," I said, hoping this wouldn't end in a catfight. "Hes still in there. he said there was something he needed to take care of." "Oh no," said the girl in black. I thought she meant about Odd, but I turned and saw a wave of water headed for Kadic!

I did the only thing I could think of. I ran into the building screaming Odd's name. I know it was stupid (boy, was it ever.) But I felt I had to find him. I mean, he was sorta like the big brother I never had, even though we only just met.

when the wave hit Kadic, it found me in the hallway. the nearest classrooms windows gave in, sending glass and muddy water hurtling through the open door right at me. I used my oversized backpack as a shield and said a prayer. not for me, I couldn't swim and I knew I was going to drown, but for Odd. He'd been nice to me, and now I would do the only thing I could for the poor guy.

when the wave ceased, I looked around, pleasantly surprised to find I wasn't dead. but I knew I had to keep moving. The voice of reason told me to go outside and make sure he wasn't there first, but I knew he had to still be in here. "ODD! I cried. I hoped Sissi was taking care of Kiwi, cause Odd was coming out of here alive if it killed me.

see, no one was nice to me like Odd. he treated me like a normal person. when he was showing me around and some kid called me a charity case, Odd defended me. I liked the quirky dude. And I knew if I didn't find him, he would end up like my parents.

I had seen there bodies, and it still haunted my nightmares.

Odd, You total and complete moron, I'm on my way.

The hallway was soaking, and I was running a bit less than ankle deep in water. My footsteps made a thrashing sound on the ground. "ODD!" I screeched. "who's there?" came a response.

'Odd?' I wondered. I started running as fast as I could towards the sound, which came from around the corner.I crashed in to something warm and wet.

"watch It!" I called from experience.

"Gee, for someone who was just screaming my name like it was the end of the world, you sure don't seem happy to see me," said an upbeat voice. "ODD!" I screamed, and lunged forwards to hug him. "Beverly?" asked Odd. "of course its me, you darn stupid idiot!" I snapped. "What were you thinking?" "I had to save this Cd," Odd explained.

"**A Cd! You almost died for a dumb CD!**" I screamed. "it represents three months non-eating and constant insomnia," said Odd indignantly. suddenly, before I understood what was happening, Another blast of water sent me sprawling into the lockers. "we gotta get outta here,"said Odd. "come on. I know a safe place."

I was so dazed it took me a while to realize I wasn't at school and was running across a soaking bridge. "Odd, are you crazy!" I asked. "just come on." Odd put on a burst of speed.I almost fell, but caught myself. Odd had a death grip on my hand.

I found myself in a shroud of darkness. with the faint light from outside, I could see I was in an abandoned building. Odd pulled me into an elevator that was conveniently located right in front of my face. "lyoko, here we come," he muttered. "what?" I asked. "you'll see," was my response.

when the elevator doors opened, I was standing In a room centered around some sort of control center. it was copper, and the ceiling was at very least 12 feet high.

"there you are, Odd," said a sandy-haired kid with large glasses,about as thick as a nickel. "Yumi is being beaten by a Hornet andulrich Is taking Aelita to the tower. get in the scanner and hurry up. A krab is coming in for Aelita!"

"what is this place?" I breathed. "who's she?" asked the blonde nerd. "this is Beverly. Beverly, this is Jeremy. Play nice," with that, Odd was gone.

the doors closed behind him with the dullest of thuds. It looked quietand peaceful near the computer. "Well, Beverly, make yourself at home," said that kid Jeremy. "this is lyoko." Jeremy gestured to the computer screen. I came over and looked. I saw a mass of green lines that fit together in a pattern, and a series of triangles that appeared in multiple colors.

I also noticed a big dot. It appeared to be pulsating, and It was moving towards the Triangles. "That's Xana," explained Jeremie, like this was the most normal thing on earth. "Is he your pet?" I asked. I mean, weird name, weird shape, weird experience, etc. Jeremy laughed a nasally laugh. "No. Xana Is a renegade computer program gone evil. He's caused the dam to break, and If we don't do something, innocent people will die. we have to reach a certain point, the Aelita will use her powers to stop Xana's attack. After this, you won't remember anything." Jeremy fiddled with his glasses.

"why not?" I asked. "because our program will send us back in time," said Jeremy. "The gang here will be the only ones who remember."

suddenly Jeremy cried out, "Oh NO!" "what?" I asked, captivated by this computer of wonders. "Odd and Ulrich and Yumi have been devirtualized! Aelita is left alone to fend for herself!" "virtualized," I said, wrinkling my nose. "whats that mean?" "it means you sort of become like a computer program," said Jeremy absently. boy, what I said next woke him up. "Send me," I said. "I mean, If people are going to die, I suppose I could, you know...," " No. absolutely not," said Jeremy. "why not?" I asked, indignant. "because, its to dangerous," Jeremy argued. "but then that Aelita person will be all alone!" I exclaimed. I could see I struck a nerve.

"but I can't," he said. "you might get hurt." "then send the others! the ones you mentioned!" I exclaimed. "you can only go to lyoko once per attack," he snapped. "then send me," I said. I don't know why, but I'm a techno whiz. I once built a myspace blog in only 10 minutes. Technology loves me.

I could see that Jeremy was struggling. "all right," he said. "now, go down 1 floor, and step into the copper pods set up. when I say, Transfer, Beverly, you'll be in lyoko."

I just nodded and grinned and headed for the elevator. when I got to the floor of Jeremy's instructions, I found the girl in black, Odd, and some other kid all sprawled on the floor, mumbling. "head for the scanner," said a kid with brown hair. he moved away from his. I stepped in the copper box, wondering what adventures awaited me in Lyoko...


	3. Lyoko, here I come!

I opened my eyes. I was in the middle of a sun drenched desert! it worked! I WAS IN LYOKO!

and it felt good. "Beverly, look out!" came the cry. I turned to see a block on spider legs. it had a strange mark, the same as the dot on the map, all around its head. I watched the strange mark glow red. "Beverly, move!" cried Jeremie. Geez, I was giving this guy a heart attack. I dodged as the light extended from the obscene mark on the things head.

It started to gather energy again. I had to do something. "Jeremy!" came a voice. "you shouldn't have sent her! she won't have powers!" whoopsy daisy. guess he had forgotten. I made a mental note to get my revenge. Just as the thing gathered energy, I tensed and focused on the rock next to me, a trick I had learned. after a few seconds of waiting, I looked over. a massive rock had blocked the attack! I was safe!

I heard the sound of footsteps. I turned and discovered a pink haired girl with elfin ears running towards me. "there you are," she panted, stopping three feet from me. "How did you create that rock like that?" I pointed to myself to affirm she had just said what I thought she said. "yeah,"she said. Time to fess up. "I've got this thing with technology. I once made a walkman run with no batteries by just sorta willing it would," I said. "no one knows but you."

"Amazing," said the girl. "I'm Aelita." "Hey," I said. "girls, this is no time for chit-chat," said the resident genius. "you need to head for the tower." "tower? aww, man, I'm afraid of heights! no one mentioned a _tower!_" I said. "don't worry; I take care of the tower." Aelita smiled warmly.

another worry off my list.

"this way," said Aelita, and she took off running. I didn't see a tower, but I didn't protest. I'm just along for the wild ride. I followed behind Aelita. usually I only ran when I was running from a drunk or the place I was sent too; P.E never inspired me to run. But here I was running and I didn't mind it. I don't mind running in general, but here it was nice and easy. suddenly the rock in front of us moved!

that's when I realized we were surrounded. Aelita took a step back towards me. "do you think you could get us out of here?" whispered Aelita. suddenly a red beam shot out of the things head and hit Aelita. I watched in horror as she faded to a series of lines like in a computer graph, then disappeared. "NO!" screeched Jeremy. believe me when I say, that guy has a set of lungs.

"There's only one option left," said a female. "fortunately Aelita came back to earth. Beverly, your gonna hafta deactivate the tower." I gulped. It sounded like the kind of thing that could be easily goofed up. "Your earths only hope," came Odds voice. "alright," I said. "Where's the tower?" just keep going straight till you see it, and then it should be slightly to your left." "uh, Jeremy, we got a problem here," said the boy who gave me his copper box, the one that took me here. "the factory is flooding, and the elevator shaft is raining down water."

I didn't want to know what would happen if I failed. I didn't want to here we would all die. I just wanted to live, and live is what I was gonna do.

I took of in a dead sprint towards the tower. I dodged some holes in the earth. sometimes the land wasn't connected to the next heap of land. I jumped then, thinking of the only friends I would ever have, waterlogged and swollen, floating in a room of copper, dead. I ran faster. then, suddenly, it was in front of me.

oh my gosh. It was huge and glowing red. I headed towards it, hesitating at the front, then, by instinct, I stepped forwards. I found myself surrounded by sky blue sheets covered in ever changing numbers, surrounded by a dark abyss. I willed myself up, upwards, and my body complied. I found myself on another pad of blue. I reached out my hand at the center, knowing I should. then, the computer took my handprint. I willed it be that yes, yes, I was a friend and could help. Lyoko was never meant to be abused, that I understood. "I understand," I whispered.

and then it asked me for a password, and I entered in what I knew to be correct. LYOKO. and then, darkness. and a bright light engulfing everything everything...

and then I woke up in bed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was in the cafeteria. I hadn't seen the kids I dreamed about, but then, had it been a dream. suddenly I heard a voice. "hey, Beverly, and welcome to Kadic." Odd.


	4. fire

"Hey, Beverly," said Odd. "mind if we sit here?" I shook my head numbly. "aelita?" I asked. "Jeremy?" "hey, Beverly," said Jeremie. Never had the nasally challenged voice of a nerd been more welcome. "Hello," said Aelita, seating herself next to Odd. The next to sit was the kid with brown hair. "Hi," he said, extending a hand around Jeremie's back. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Ulrich." I shook in a daze, nodding. "and I'm Yumi," said the girl in black.

"you're all real," I breathed. "Yup," said Odd cheerfully. "So, what did you think of Lyoko?" "can I go back?" I blurted, then blushed. "maybe," said the Ulrich dude. "we've never had a new member before." "I've never had friends before," I said without thinking. I must have left my brain in Lyoko.

"well then, we'll be your first," said Odd, not skipping a beat. I shook my head to clear the questions. "yesterday really happened," I stated, just to make sure. "uh-huh," said the Yumi girl. "yesterday happened." It wasn't really yesterday, more like a glimpse into the future, but what else can you call it? The vision of today's possible disaster?

I picked up my sugar-free purple jello in a cup and spooned some into my mouth."So let me get this straight. I spent yesterday in a virtual world, then you used a back-in-time machine to send me back to the day I already lived?" "uh-huh," said Ulrich with a nod. boy, am I gonna need a lot of counseling to get over this one.

"don't look now, but Sissi's headed this way," Odd hissed at me. I busied myself studying the slightly wilted salad I had been given. "Hey, Ulrich," said Sissi in a voice coated with sugar. "hey, Yumi,"she spat. "hey, whats your name again. yeah, you, the _charity case," _Sissi said, voice full of contempt. "at least I have real friends instead of minions who'd ditch me given half the chance," I said.

Sissi stared at me, mouth open. "uh," she said. "how rude. don't you know better than to talk to the principal's own daughter like that?" "And don't you know better than to make people hate you by picking on them?" I asked. "go hassle some other poor victim. and take the shrimp and the gorilla with you, jaguar girl."

needless to say, she stomped off.

"all right!" said Odd, offering his hand for a high five. I complied. "way to go," said Yumi. "thanks," I shrugged. "mind telling me why she dislikes you?" "Cause, ulrich spends so much time with her." Odd ducked the play-slap Yumi sent his direction. "what?" said Aelita. "he's only telling the truth."

we all laughed except for the blushing couple.

-------------------------

I was following some instructions down a complicated hall. the Lyoko gang told me to meet them in Jeremy's room. I was early, and I hoped I wouldn't be first. I couldn't wait to learn more about lyoko.

suddenly I heard voices. I headed towards a hardly-cracked door that the voices seemed to be coming from. "We don't know if we can trust her," said a girl. Yumi! "she helped me," said a docile voice I knew belonged to Aelita. "but we don't know her well enough to trust her," said Jeremy. "Come on, you guys! She went into a flooding building to help me!" said Odd. "I mean, we can't let just anyone know, I understand that, but she saved hundreds of lives! isn't that enough?"

I tried to lean forwards to peek but instead tripped over a piece of badly installed carpet. I fell through the doorway. "oh, uh, hi, Beverly," said Jeremy, putting on a we-weren't-just-talking-about-you-behind-your-back face. "I heard every word," I said coldly.

they all put on their best 'OOPS' faces.

"you could have told me you didn't want me around," I said. "I would have taken the hint. I'm not as deaf as you think I am." I felt upset; betrayed. so many places, and the people were all the same. I turned away, but felt a hand on my sleeve. "Beverly, wait," It was Odd. "We shouldn't have been talking about you like that behind your back," he said. "we're sorry."

"are they sorry?" I asked, nodding towards the others. "Yes, Beverly,"said Aelita. the rest nodded. I sighed. "okay then." I pulled my sleeve from Odds grasp. "Beverly, where are you going?" asked Odd. "you don't want me. Its fine; nobody does."

and with that, I ran.

--------------------------

I was in my room, on my bed. I wasn't crying: I never cried. I was staring at the picture of my family before. before the fire that stole them away. they could have been more careful: they shouldn't have left the oven mitt on the burner. but they did, and they paid the price.

I had gone to the park that was only a quarter of a block away from my house. I wasn't supposed to go alone, but I did. I headed down towards the creek. I could see my house from where I sat. I looked for a little while, then noticed smoke, seeming to come from the backyard. '_must be cooking out,'_ I had thought to myself. I noticed the smoke went towards Larry's window. '_they ought to be more careful. he's only a baby,'_ I remember thinking. then sparks rose in the air, a mini **BOOM** sounding throughout the neighborhood. they had tried to beat the fire with a towel, and it had caught on fire. mother tossed it away, and It fell into the garage and landed on the gasoline we kept for the lawn mower. luckily it was almost empty.

then, _then_ the fire alarm went off. I could hear it through the open windows. then did I stand from the rock I had rested on. I ran to the house. When I got to the front yard, the neighbors were standing in their lawns and watching. the tree in front of our house was burning like a candle. I ran towards the house, feeling sparks gently nibble at me skin. "MOMMY!" I cried. "DADDY! LARRY!" the Ash made it so I could hardly see an inch in front of my face.

the fire department got there what seemed like and eternity later. I was covered in soot, my hands black and grimy, my face smeared with ash. they went in. What they dragged out next wasn't even Human anymore. Their bodies were grotesque, and the only break from the ash covering them was the blood from the third degree burns. they never even found Larry.

I settled down to sleep, there on my soft bed in Kadic, and heard a voice. _"the stars are wishes waiting to be granted. when a wish is granted, the star falls."_

'night, mommy,' I thought to the empty air.


	5. wings to fly

I wassitting in the cafeteria. breakfast already. how unreasonable. I did my homework last night and made it to dinner. but I couldn't eat. I finally managed to muster up some appetite when I thought I saw Aelita. I could barely swallow that one bite. And I wasn't missing out on breakfast. oatmeal that had the same consistency as a paintball. and full of lumps.

there was one the size of a rock at the center of the bowl. suddenly I heard a voice. "mind If we sit here?" It was Odd. "sure. if you don't mind sitting with someone you can't trust," I said. I took a big bite of oatmeal to demonstrate how fine I was. Big mistake. My stomach lurched forward, and I was very nearly sick. I must have leaned forward in my chair or something because Odd asked "are you okay?" "yeah," I said weakly. "its this oatmeal." Lie. I'd eaten worse than this.

"Oh," said Odd. "yea, this stuff gets to you your first couple times." I nodded. "so, listen," said Ulrich. "we're sorry," said Yumi. "yeah," said Aelita. "we never meant to hurt you," said Jeremy. "so hows about this," said Odd. "you can train with us, and maybe help during a few emergencies. Then maybe one day you'll become a regular."

I stared at them in shock. "you mean it?" I questioned. "yup," Jeremy grinned. "All right!" I said. they all relaxed and smiled. "you guys. I'm sorry." I looked down at my plate. "I didn't give you a chance, and I feel like a jerk." "We're the ones who should be sorry," said aelita. "yeah," said Jeremy. "We shouldn't have talked about you like that." "It's okay," I said.

And Odd smiled right at me.

I felt like I could fly. the ashes Of my old lifedrifted away, and once again I could breathe. "for Lyoko," I murmured. "for Lyoko," they whispered. and that's what mattered most.


End file.
